


Picking up Your Pieces

by form_troy_boltron



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Heavy Angst, M/M, POV Third Person, Recovery, allura lived, also lance and keith started dating in s7, most stuff is the same except for like the last five minutes of s8
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 12:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17365556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/form_troy_boltron/pseuds/form_troy_boltron
Summary: Before saving Allura and sacrificing herself to restore reality, the newly healed Honerva sent Shiro on a mission. She told him where he needed to go and told him it was urgent, but nothing could have prepared Shiro for what he found there.





	1. Shiro

"And Champion... no. Shiro. I've been keeping something of yours for a while now. When the universe is restored, you need to go to this location immediately: Quadrant four, sector eight. Seek out fleet fifteen, then find battle cruiser sixteen. Board it and go to corridor twenty-three, then, in cell forty-two, you'll find what you're looking for. I know you can never forgive me for what I've done, but I hope that, with this information, you can find some happiness."

Those had been Honerva's last words before she sealed the rift she opened in search of a perfect reality, leaving the paladins, Atlas, and Voltron back in their own reality. In the two quintants since she sacrificed herself, Shiro has been going back and forth in his mind about what he should do. 

Part of him says it's a stupid idea. Why should he trust her now after all she'd done? She'd cloned him, made him her champion, and messed with his mind to no end. What if this is just another one of her mind games, and she's trying to get the last laugh?

But Shiro's gut tells him to go find whatever she's sent him to look for. Allura had taken the corrupting quintessence from Haggar's body, turning her back into Honerva. She seemed to realize what she'd done and even expressed remorse for it, something Shiro thought she was incapable of.

Suddenly, Shiro lets out a loud sigh, startling Keith (who's sitting next to him, drawing Lance.) "What the hell, I'm going to do it," Shiro says decisively. Keith looks over at him, clearly concerned. "But I'm going alone."

"What?! Shiro, that's crazy! We don't know what she has in there, you could-"

"What, die? Again?" Shiro laughs bitterly. "As if I'd care. Keith, you have Lance and Krolia- they're all you need. Your boyfriend and your mom will take care of you better than I ever could've. If I go alone and do end up dying, I'll get a nice funeral, you and the others will mourn me for a bit, then move on."

"Shiro-"

" _There's nothing left here for me, Keith_!" Keith flinches as if his brother had slapped him. "You remember how my family cut me off when I came out. Even if they'd survived the Galra invasion, I doubt they would've even acknowledged my existence. The Galra have taken everything away from me- my arm, my own body, my family, my sanity, and..." Shiro stops for a minute, trying to force out that name, that name Shiro hasn't been able to say since he saw it on the memorial wall months ago. "And _him_ ," Shiro finally says. 

 _He_ had been the reason Shiro fought so hard to stay alive, the reason he'd held on in the Astral Plane for so long. The one thing that got him through this living hell his life has become was the hope that someday, when Shiro got back to Earth,  _he'd_ be there, waiting. That brilliant smile, those beautiful freckles  _he_ was always so ashamed of, and those stunning brown eyes would greet Shiro when he returned. The sunlight would glint off of _his_ soft brown hair, and  _he_ would run to Shiro, both of them in tears. And when  _his_ arms wrapped around Shiro, after all these years, he'd finally be home.

But when Shiro finally came back to Earth, no golden sun was waiting there for him. Instead, he was met with a cold stone wall and the news that Shiro's sun was never to shine again.

He'd never considered that  _he_ would burn out first.  _He_ was so full of life, so warm, comforting, and beautiful- Shiro had been amazed by  _him_ the moment they met, and every moment after. But that stupid argument about Kerberos had come between them, and now Shiro had lost  _him._

"I have nothing to lose, Keith. If there's a future for me left on Earth, I don't want it. I just can't do it any more, now that the one thing I'd been dreaming of is gone. Goodbye, Keith."

Keith stares mournfully at Shiro as he walks out, but doesn't try to stop him.

~ ~ ~

It doesn't take long for Shiro to find battle cruiser sixteen. As soon as reality had been restored, Allura had opened up a wormhole to quadrant four, section eight, and the Atlas crew found the remains of fleet fifteen. This fleet, like many others, had been abandoned- but only recently, probably just before the rift opened. Now, sitting in front of the cruiser, Shiro exits his plane in his paladin armor, carrying a bag full of food and water. He flies through the open hangar door, then opens the pressurization chamber with his new and improved arm.

Wandering through the halls, Shiro marvels at how desolate the cruiser is. There are no sentries to avoid, no hum of the engine, and weapons, clothes, and other items lie discarded, as if the Galra were in a hurry when evacuating this cruiser. 

When Shiro reaches hallway twenty-three, he's surprised at how guarded it is- or would have been. The doors are thicker than in normal prison cells and there are several inactive security drones lying on the floor. 

But by far, the most secure cell is number fourty-two. Four sentries, now useless, guard this door alone, whereas most of the other cells have no guards. There's a note on the door written in Galra, which Shiro's scanner reads to say, "Haggar's orders- DO NOT MOVE PRISONER IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!" Upon opening the door, Shiro finds that it's not just one door, but several, which open in layers. He finds himself holding his breath as the final door opens.

Inside the cell lies the filthiest prisoner Shiro has ever seen. His long brown hair, which has two white streaks in it, is unkempt and covers his eyes in the front. His prison uniform hangs off of his skinny frame, and his face is hollow and sunken. At first, Shiro thinks he's dead, but when the prisoner looks up at him, Shiro's heart stops.

While the rest of him may be unrecognizable, Shiro would know those eyes anywhere. They hold more sadness than Shiro thought was possible and look like broken glass, but he knows who must be sitting before him.

" _Adam_?"


	2. Adam

How long had it been? Months? Years? Adam doesn’t know anymore. After a few days in the dark confines of his cell, time had become meaningless. Adam feels like he’s been trapped here for eternity, and that his old life on Earth was simply a dream he’d woken up from a long time ago.

But he’s been kept alive this whole time intentionally. After being shot down by Sendak, a cloaked figure had pulled Adam out of his plane’s wreckage and dragged him back to the cruiser. His broken, bloodied legs were so badly hurt that the Galra considered them a risk to his survival, so they had been amputated and replaced with advanced metal prosthetics. When Adam had asked why they put so much effort into him, first he got zapped by Haggar’s purple lightning, but then was told he was “of value to the black paladin,” whatever that meant.

So he was kept alive- but only just. Usually Adam’s throat would be too dry for him to even speak before they’d give him water, and food came even less often. 

But recently, something had changed. From what he heard over the speaker system, Adam had realized that wherever he is was under attack by a Galra cruiser, and the whole ship had been evacuated. The sentries, drones, and most security features had been deactivated, and Adam hasn’t seen any Galra since it happened. 

He would have tried to escape, but he simply doesn’t have the energy. He’s had no water since the event and has been without food for even longer, so he’s been sitting in his cell, barely able to move, living out what he believes will be his final moments.

Then suddenly, out of the blue, the cell door opens, illuminating Adam’s dim cell and temporarily blinding him. With some effort, he lifts his head to see a figure in black and white armor. Their helmet is covering their face, but Adam can tell this isn’t any Galra. 

The stranger then asks, “Adam?” It takes him a moment to remember that yes, once that had indeed been his name, and Adam tries to nod, but his head won’t move. Adam then tries to respond, but all that comes out of his mouth is a dry squeak. Approaching him, the man cups Adam’s face in his floating prosthetic hand and pushes Adam’s bangs out of his eyes with the other. 

“It’s you,” he says breathlessly, clearly in awe. Adam still can’t tell who he is, but he must be human- he’s speaking English. Before Adam can think any more on this, he falls forwards, slumping against the stranger as he loses consciousness.

~ ~ ~

The next thing he knows, Adam is lying in what seems to be a hospital bed, surrounded by people in hazmat suits. One of them notices that he’s awake and says, “Hey, Adam. How are you feeling?”

Looking around at the bright lights, the doctors holding surgical tools and syringes, and being on the operating table, Adam suddenly starts to panic. The last time he’d been in a place like this, he’d lost both of his legs, and he’s terrified at what these technicians might do to him. 

He starts to kick and scream, flailing around in an attempt to keep them away. Adam notices the IV drip in his arm and starts desperately trying to pull it out, but something imbeds itself in his arm before he can. When he looks down, Adam sees a tranquilizer dart in him and starts to cry as he blacks out.

~ ~ ~

The next time Adam wakes up, he’s restrained by two silver wrist cuffs attached to the bed. There’s only one person in the room this time and he’s not wearing a hazmat suit. The other person is sitting besides Adam’s bed with his face buried in Adam’s lap, and he seems to be crying. Adam notices the man’s floating hand and realizes this is the person who recognized him in the cell, so he shifts a bit to indicate that he’s awake.

The man stiffens and goes still. Slowly, he raises his head and stares into Adam’s eyes, and Adam realizes who his rescuer is: Takashi Shirogane, the man he’d mourned for so many long years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m not abandoning my other fic I promise, I just wanted to start writing this bad boy while I was thinking about it
> 
> Adam bby i’m so sorry you didn’t deserve what happened to you i promise i’ll treat you better
> 
> THANKS FOR READING YO


	3. Shiro

“Hey, Adam,” Shiro says sheepishly, mesmerized by those wide brown eyes. Ever since he got Adam back four days ago, he’d been in critical condition and Shiro hadn’t been allowed to see him. But when Adam woke up for the first time, apparently he started screaming and trying to escape. Shiro figures that Adam was probably having a flashback to when he was imprisoned, and when he consulted with the doctors, they thought it’d be best to have someone familiar in the room when Adam woke up next.

Adam lies completely still, eyes transfixed on Shiro. The heart monitor attached to him starts beeping faster and faster, so much so that Shiro starts to worry Adam will pass out.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you alive,” Shiro says, reaching out to push Adam’s hair out of his eyes. But Adam flinches as Shiro’s fingers approach his face and he squirms against the handcuffs (seriously, handcuffs?! Shiro had loudly objected to them, but the doctors said he might endanger himself without them.)

“Adam, it’s okay,” Shiro coaxes. “It’s me. I’m not going to hurt you.” Slowly, Adam’s body becomes less tense and Shiro starts to reach for him again. “I just want to get your hair out of your eyes. You always used to hate it when that happened, remember? That’s how you knew when to cut it.”

Gently, Shiro sweeps Adam’s bangs to the side, then quietly asks, “Better?”

Adam nods, tears pooling in his eyes, and leans into Shiro’s hand. He taps the handcuffs with his fingers and Shiro says, “Do you want me to take these off?” Adam nods again. “Alright, but you can’t do anything to injure yourself. No ripping your IV drips out or something, got it?” As he reaches down for the release switch under the bed, Shiro says, “I really shouldn’t be doing this, but frankly, I think you’ve been in handcuffs long enough.” After flipping the switch, Shiro starts to come back up and say, “Wouldn’t you agr— mmph!”

As soon as he could, Adam latched on to Shiro’s hoodie and pulled him into a kiss. Adam clings on to the hoodie for dear life as he starts intensely making out with his former fiancé, who can feel his desperation. Shiro wraps his arms around Adam and squeezes him tightly.

They continue like this until Adam finally slumps against Shiro’s chest, panting and sobbing. Adam’s fingers dig into Shiro’s back and he’s already going for another kiss, seconds later-

“Whoa, hold on,” Shiro says, pressing his hand against Adam’s forehead. “Don’t hurt yourself, sweetie. We’re gonna have more time together from now on,” Shiro says, only realizing this as he says it out loud. Adam’s grip on him relaxes a bit but he buries himself in Shiro’s chest again, still crying.

As he looks down at the pathetic form clinging to him, Shiro realizes that, whether he likes it or not, he needs to stay alive- for Adam. Even though Shiro feels like he’ll never be healed, he can at least give Adam a chance at recovery, right?

But Adam has a long road ahead of him. If Adam was taken when his plane crashed, that would mean he’s been in Galra captivity for over four years. Shiro shudders, imagining what they could have done to Adam in that time, and pulls him closer.

“I promise, I’m going to take care of you, Adam. No matter how long it takes for you to heal, I’ll be there for it all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve posted three chapters within the past twenty four hours  
> I got one hour of sleep last night  
> help

**Author's Note:**

> me? starting a new fic before my other one is done?  
> it's likely


End file.
